MOC: Modular Police Station

[ACCURATEin]

The police car is spectacular. I came back into the thread just to look at it. Thanks for more images of it!

[Ralph_S]

I think that the car is pretty neat. It has a nice shape and has nice details, but because minifigs are very wide compared to their height, building cars for them inevitably involves compromises. I think that with your desire for it to fit four figs you are pushing the boundaries of minifig scale too far. You don't show pictures of it with a figure standing next to it, but it looks far too big to me. It also looks too big in front of the building. IMO it would have looked more in proportion next to the building if it would have been smaller, even if that would mean it couldn't seat as many figs.

The building itself is great. It has all the elements I love about nice CC-MOCs with all its interior detail. It's amazing how much stuff you managed to fit in there without the place looking too cramped. Your cops have quite the arsenal!

Cheers,

Ralph

[Teddy]

Same here.

For once more, fantastic work Teddy! Great colour selection (brown is most suitable and looks beautiful next to tan), very beautiful design (SNOT works great here and the windows are very cleverly created) and a fantastic interior! You 've managed to place all the essentials in it in a great way!

The police car looks really great too! The front of it with the chromed pieces is very realistic.

Once again. well done and thanks for sharing Teddy!

Thanks zorbas!

Wow! I can't believe how simple this is!

Thanks Prateek!

May i request building instructions or build pictures for the car? I find it to be quite a challenge to fit two people comfortably, side by side, in 6-wide cars.

Thanks bricked one.

I will see what i can do.

I think that the car is pretty neat. It has a nice shape and has nice details, but because minifigs are very wide compared to their height, building cars for them inevitably involves compromises. I think that with your desire for it to fit four figs you are pushing the boundaries of minifig scale too far. You don't show pictures of it with a figure standing next to it, but it looks far too big to me. It also looks too big in front of the building. IMO it would have looked more in proportion next to the building if it would have been smaller, even if that would mean it couldn't seat as many figs.

The building itself is great. It has all the elements I love about nice CC-MOCs with all its interior detail. It's amazing how much stuff you managed to fit in there without the place looking too cramped. Your cops have quite the arsenal!

Cheers,

Ralph

hi Ralph,

I will take a photo with a mini-fig next to it.

As to scaling, it all depends on the scale applied.

Here is a photo on Flickr: Link to Flickr topic

Commonly used scales for mini-fig vehicles range from 1:60 (mini-fig illusion scale mostly used in pirate ship building) 1:48 (small racer cars) 1:40 (rail gauge of lego track), 1:38 (1 feet roughly equals one stud ), and 1:35 (mini-fig is a short guy). Personally I mostly use 1:39, since one feet is roughly one stud in this scale and it is a nice compromise between 1:40 and 1:38.

If your preferred scale is 1:48 than you can argue I pushed it too far.

At 1:39 (one stud is roughly a feet) I think it still is okay as the car width is below 2 meters.

6x0.8x39=187.2 cm -> 6.1 ft. However, in this scale I did have to compromise a bit on height as a mini-fig has short legs and a large torso.

In short:

It all depends if you view the mini-fig as a short fat guy or a long fat guy.

Personally, I think 6 stud wide cars look good, and 7 is maybe a bit too big.

Kind regards,

Teddy

---------------------------

Edit: Police Car with Cops

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[sens1992]

This is outstanding! What a great police station. I really like the police cruiser, can we get more photos of it???

[NPimenta]

excelent these police station!

great detaisl in interior.

congrats

[Teddy]

This is outstanding! What a great police station. I really like the police cruiser, can we get more photos of it???

excelent these police station!

great detaisl in interior.

congrats

Thanks for the nice comments!

Kind regards,

Teddy

Here is a photo of the cruiser with cops:

[Ralph_S]

hi Ralph,

I will take a photo with a mini-fig next to it.

As to scaling, it all depends on the scale applied.

Here is a photo on Flickr: Link to Flickr topic

Commonly used scales for mini-fig vehicles range from 1:60 (mini-fig illusion scale mostly used in pirate ship building) 1:48 (small racer cars) 1:40 (rail gauge of lego track), 1:38 (1 feet roughly equals one stud ), and 1:35 (mini-fig is a short guy). Personally I mostly use 1:39, since one feet is roughly one stud in this scale and it is a nice compromise between 1:40 and 1:38.

If your preferred scale is 1:48 than you can argue I pushed it too far.

At 1:39 (one stud is roughly a feet) I think it still is okay as the car width is below 2 meters.

6x0.8x39=187.2 cm -> 6.1 ft. However, in this scale I did have to compromise a bit on height as a mini-fig has short legs and a large torso.

In short:

It all depends if you view the mini-fig as a short fat guy or a long fat guy.

Personally, I think 6 stud wide cars look good, and 7 is maybe a bit too big.

Kind regards,

Teddy

Teddy,

I've seen Gambort's drawing on flickr, have read many of the arguments before and have even written posts about it in various places, including here on EB. I realise that minifigs are fat buggers and that there is no such thing as perfect minifig scale.

Of course the scale each of us chooses is an an individual choice, but I think it is cleat that for MOCs that combine buildings, cars and figures, I definitely prefer the somewhat smaller end of the range.

Cheers,

Ralph

[Teddy]

Teddy,

I've seen Gambort's drawing on flickr, have read many of the arguments before and have even written posts about it in various places, including here on EB. I realise that minifigs are fat buggers and that there is no such thing as perfect minifig scale.

Of course the scale each of us chooses is an an individual choice, but I think it is cleat that for MOCs that combine buildings, cars and figures, I definitely prefer the somewhat smaller end of the range.

Cheers,

Ralph

Hi Ralph,

yes it is clear what you prefer. You build your cars at about 1:45, I build this car at about 1:39.

In a combined layout it makes sense to align car scales. For this MOC I really wanted to build a four seater that looks good.

Kind regards,

Teddy

[ACCURATEin]

I don't think i've ever thought to angle the 2x6x2 windscreen. Very clever idea.

[Teddy]

I don't think i've ever thought to angle the 2x6x2 windscreen. Very clever idea.

Thanks ACCURATEin! But the idea is not entirely mine. I got the idea of angeling the windscreen after studying Rufus his 7 wide design.

My car was getting too high so I needed to angle the windscreen, or build a customized screen from bricks.

Personally, I like brick build screens a lot, but for this MOC I preferred to use the regular piece.

Although the windscreens do not angle in on the sides towards the top, I like the fact that they are easy to see through.

Kind regards,

Teddy

[Rick]

There is going to be a more angled windscreen in next year's City sets, but that will probably interfere with the doors.

[gambort]

I was admiring this police station on Brickshelf the other day so I'm glad to have found a thread about it here on EB. Really excellent work on the building. The whole thing is very pleasing to the eyes. Sparse yet detailed.

I probably share some of Ralph's concerns about the car although I think the scale is OK. I think it's great in all its details but the ratios seem off.

Tim

PS. I've discovered that looking at who links to my minifig scale picture takes me to all sorts of interesting discussions and MOCs.

[Ezechielle]

Very nice CCS building! The decoration is very accurate: simple and realistic. The car is prety cool too, even if I prefer 5-wide vehicules

Anyway, very nice job!

[bricked one]

Why did you choose to make the walls yellow? Personally i would have made them grey or tan.

[Capn Frank]

Teddy,

I just have to say, I am very impressed with this MOC. I really like the police car.

I have been making prototype after prototype trying to get a 4-seater cab to look right.

I will be studying these pictures A LOT when I am able to attempt another version of the cab.

Thank you for sharing.

[Admiral Ron]

Wow this looks great! Another great modular building! I cant get over that great technique for the car and for the computer screens! Somehow my eye catches little things like that. Great Work!

[armchair_superhero]

firstly, your work is amazing, true inspiration towards lego building brilliance.

these questions are probably meant for another forum, but you appear to be the sort of man who can answer my questions - you'll have to excuse my ignorance, (i am only just rediscovering my lego building skills after 20years absence from my childhood days) but where can you get a hold of all those different coloured bricks? LDD is a bit restricting, as it will only offer certain parts in specific colours.

my next question is i am a reformed architect obsessed with facades, so my lego creations are usually facade-only, but what's the common building technique, do most people usually put a back to their buildings? i notice most of your works have lift-off levels for internal access. should i change my technique now before it's too late, or are there others out there who build like me?

attached is a screen-shot of a recent design of mine for your advice/feedback, based on a picture of the tibbits opera house (link to the image i based it on here ) a lot of the bricks have changed since my younger days, so i am still getting used to creating some of the finer architectural details.

[spectre4188]

Awesome work! :)

[mifody]

The house is magnificent , and the car :thumbup: in general is smart! It would be desirable the instruction on car assemblage! Can make???

[jonwil]

Nice modular police station, looks GREAT.

I am seriously tempted to build my own modular police station (only more modern looking with white and blue ala the TLG police stations). Although I DID build police for last years layout :P

[DRM]

Stunning police station and car. Really clever design work. Personally I also find the car a bit big for the figures and station, but I understand this is subjective. It is also a dilemma frequently encountered with lego. As a child with classic town, the idea of one person per vehicle did not trouble one and the open backed houses made for easy playability. Over the years lego has generally become more 'realistic' in terms of vehicles etc., except that the majority still only carry one person. As a fire fan this is a problem when one wants to convey an appropriate number of firefighters to an incident but does not want a plethora of vehicles there which cannot be accommodated in the fire station, MOC station or otherwise. I managed to build a four seater fire engine a few years back, not particularly good on detail but at least I could fit it into a fire station. I have since given up and reverted to variations of kits. I realise the most recent fire station has a two seater engine.

[R5-N2]

WOW very good work...

[The Player Nº1]

:thumbup:

It's great.

Regards

Edited January 8, 2011 by The Player Nº1

[Vincent Kessels]

firstly, your work is amazing, true inspiration towards lego building brilliance.

these questions are probably meant for another forum, but you appear to be the sort of man who can answer my questions - you'll have to excuse my ignorance, (i am only just rediscovering my lego building skills after 20years absence from my childhood days) but where can you get a hold of all those different coloured bricks? LDD is a bit restricting, as it will only offer certain parts in specific colours.

my next question is i am a reformed architect obsessed with facades, so my lego creations are usually facade-only, but what's the common building technique, do most people usually put a back to their buildings? i notice most of your works have lift-off levels for internal access. should i change my technique now before it's too late, or are there others out there who build like me?

attached is a screen-shot of a recent design of mine for your advice/feedback, based on a picture of the tibbits opera house (link to the image i based it on here ) a lot of the bricks have changed since my younger days, so i am still getting used to creating some of the finer architectural details.

That is a great facade you made there.

To get more colors and bricks in LDD you need to enable Lego Universe Mode. See the index thread in the LDD Forum.

Regarding the facade-only building technique, I don't think I've seen it used very often, but that is not really import. It is more important what you are comfortable with. After all it's an expression of your creativity. Every body has his own personal style, but there are some common themes like Lego City style where the back is open, Modular Buildings which can connected together with separable floors, or buildings which can split apart. But there are also builders who only care about the outside (making the inside a mess as long as it works), or who build in different scale. Personally I use a slightly modified version of the Modular Building 'standard'. I am also more interested in the front facade, so most times there none or barely an interior.

P.S. You may want to introduce yourself in the Hello! My name is... forum. You also will get a better response if you ask these questions in your own topic and not in an existing topic.

[I Scream Clone]

I can't believe I missed this beautiful creation Teddy! Loads of nice details including the gun storage, mechanics garage, lockups even the beautifully designed Police car. Love the SNOT walls as well.